Safety barrier for a railway track

ABSTRACT

A guardrail assembly ( 100 ) for a railway track has a bracket clip ( 102 ) which is connected to a side of an upright post ( 48 ) furthest from the railway track and is adapted to support a guard rail ( 1 12 ). The bracket clip ( 102 ) has flexible jaws ( 104, 106 ) for snap-on engagement and snap-off disengagement of the rail ( 1 12 ). The assembly ( 100 ) also has spacing means ( 15 ) in the form of telescopically engaging spacer portions ( 123, 124 ) connected together by a spring clip ( 120 ). The spring clip ( 120 ) has a protruding head ( 126 ) that is adapted to pass through overlapping apertures formed in the telescopically engaging spacer portions. There is also a bracket clamp ( 130 ) which is connected to an end of the spacing means ( 15 ) and is adapted to slidably engage the upright post ( 48 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improved safety barrier for arailway track and, in particular, to various quick release, assembly oradjustment arrangements in the connection of components in a guardrailassembly.

BACKGROUND ART

Australian Patent No. 2002 332 965 to the present inventor, the contentsof which are incorporated herein by reference, discloses a guardrailassembly for preventing rail workers encroaching dangerously close torailway tracks which are in use.

That assembly, whilst providing the required level of safety to railworkers who maintain the guardrail assembly in a safe position betweenthemselves and the tracks which are in use, may present a danger to anyperson who finds themself on the wrong side of the guardrail assembly,that is, between it and the tracks which are in use, particularly when atrain approaches. This may occur with trespassers on railway property,who could find themselves with little time to react in moving clear of atrain and have their escape from danger impeded by the horizontal railsof the guardrail assembly.

It has now been found by the present inventor that this problem may beovercome by providing a quick release or adjustment arrangement in theconnection of the horizontal rails to the vertical posts in suchassemblies.

Another limitation is the speed with which the guardrail assembly can beassembled and adjusted for use beside railway tracks. The quicker theassembling (and disassembling), the lesser is the risk of disruption torail services, and the quicker the adjustment, the lesser is the risk ofinjury to rail workers alongside tracks which are in use. These alsoallow the rail workers to finish their tasks more quickly, saving labourtime and costs.

It has now been found by the present inventor that the speed with whichthe guardrail assembly can be assembled and adjusted for use besiderailway tracks may be improved by providing a quick assembly andadjustment arrangement of the spacing means between the clamps and thevertical posts in such assemblies, and by providing a quick assembly andadjustment arrangement in the connection of the vertical posts to thespacing means in such assemblies.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a guardrailassembly for a railway track, comprising:

-   -   (a) a plurality of post forming means, each post forming means        including an upright post means, and    -   (b) one or more rail means supported by the upright post means,        each post forming means further including:        -   (i) locking means slidably insertable under a rail of the            track,        -   (ii) clamping means adapted to engage against a first side            portion of the rail and to be moved between a first position            where the locking means is slidably removable from under the            rail, and a second position, where the locking means locks            the clamping means to the rail, and        -   (iii) spacing means connected between the clamping means and            the upright post means for locating the upright post means            sufficiently remote of the rail to prevent a rail worker            encroaching dangerously close to the rail,            wherein one or more bracket clip is connected to a side of            the upright post means furthest from the railway track and            is adapted to support the rail means, the bracket clip            comprising flexible jaws for snap-on engagement and snap-off            disengagement of the rail means.

Preferably, there are two bracket clips, each adapted to support a pairof rail means.

It is preferred that the bracket clip comprises a body, the bodydefining a first pair of jaws for supporting a first rail means and asecond pair of jaws for supporting a second rail means.

In a preferred form, one jaw of the first pair and one jaw of the secondpair are defined on opposite sides of a common central portion of thebody.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided aguardrail assembly for a railway track, comprising:

-   -   (a) a plurality of post forming means, each post forming means        including an upright post means, and    -   (b) one or more rail means supported by the upright post means,        each post forming means further including:        -   (i) locking means slidably insertable under a rail of the            track,        -   (ii) clamping means adapted to engage against a first side            portion of the rail and to be moved between a first position            where the locking means is slidably removable from under the            rail, and a second position, where the locking means locks            the clamping means to the rail, and        -   (iii) spacing means connected between the clamping means and            the upright post means for locating the upright post means            sufficiently remote of the rail to prevent a rail worker            encroaching dangerously close to the rail,            wherein the spacing means comprises telescopically engaging            spacer portions connected together by a spring clip having a            protruding head that is adapted to pass through overlapping            apertures formed in the telescopically engaging spacer            portions.

Preferably, the spring clip comprises a resilient strip of semi-rigidmaterial having a first end secured to an outside surface of an outertelescopically engaging spacer portion and having the protruding headproximal to an opposite second end.

It is preferred that the spring clip includes an upturn in the resilientstrip at the second end to allow pivotal lifting of the spring clipabout the first end, whereby the protruding head can exit theoverlapping apertures and allow relative movement between thetelescopically engaging spacer portions of the spacer means.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided aguardrail assembly for a railway track, comprising:

-   -   (a) a plurality of post forming means, each post forming means        including an upright post means, and    -   (b) one or more rail means supported by the upright post means,        each post forming means further including:        -   (i) locking means slidably insertable under a rail of the            track,        -   (ii) clamping means adapted to engage against a first side            portion of the rail and to be moved between a first position            where the locking means is slidably removable from under the            rail, and a second position, where the locking means locks            the clamping means to the rail, and        -   (iii) spacing means connected between the clamping means and            the upright post means for locating the upright post means            sufficiently remote of the rail to prevent a rail worker            encroaching dangerously close to the rail,            wherein a bracket clamp is connected to an end of the            spacing means and is adapted to slidably engage the upright            post means, the bracket clamp comprising a pivotal lock            that, when in a first position, forces a pair of free ends            of the bracket clamp toward each other for locking the            position of the upright post means relative to the spacing            means, and, when in a second position, releases that force            and allows relative movement between the upright post means            and the spacing means.

Preferably, the bracket clamp comprises a substantially square socketfor receiving therethrough the upright post means.

It is preferred that the pivotal lock is pivotally connected to the pairof free ends of the bracket clamp, and includes a U-shaped portionwhich, when the pivotal lock is in the first position, sandwiches aroundthe pair of free ends.

In a preferred form, the U-shaped portion has opposed inner surfaceswhich define therebetween a tapering space into which the pair of freeends is forced.

According to a still further aspect of the invention there is provided aguardrail assembly for a railway track, comprising:

-   -   (a) a plurality of post forming means, each post forming means        including an upright post means, and    -   (b) one or more rail means supported by the upright post means,        each post forming means further including:        -   (i) locking means slidably insertable under a rail of the            track,        -   (ii) clamping means adapted to engage against a first side            portion of the rail and to be moved between a first position            where the locking means is slidably removable from under the            rail, and a second position, where the locking means locks            the clamping means to the rail, and        -   (iii) spacing means connected between the clamping means and            the upright post means for locating the upright post means            sufficiently remote of the rail to prevent a rail worker            encroaching dangerously close to the rail,            wherein one or more bracket clip is connected to a side of            the upright post means furthest from the railway track and            is adapted to support the rail means, the bracket clip            comprising flexible jaws for snap-on engagement and snap-off            disengagement of the rail means, and wherein the spacing            means comprises telescopically engaging spacer portions            connected together by a spring clip having a protruding head            that is adapted to pass through overlapping apertures formed            in the telescopically engaging spacer portions, and wherein            a bracket clamp is connected to an end of the spacing means            and is adapted to slidably engage the upright post means,            the bracket clamp comprising a pivotal lock that, when in a            first position, forces a pair of free ends of the bracket            clamp toward each other for locking the position of the            upright post means relative to the spacing means, and, when            in a second position, releases that force and allows            relative movement between the upright post means and the            spacing means.

It is further preferred that the spacing means includes a bent portionadjacent the clamping means for elevating the spacing means above theclamping means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a guardrail assembly according to a preferredembodiment of the invention, when engaged to a rail of a railway track,

FIG. 2 is a top view of the guardrail assembly and rail shown in FIG. 1,the guardrail assembly having left sided locking means and clampingmeans,

FIG. 3 is a front view of the guardrail assembly and rail shown in FIG.1,

FIG. 4 is a top view of a guardrail assembly that is similar to theguardrail assembly shown in FIG. 1, but has right sided locking meansand clamping means, and is located, in use, next in line to theguardrail assembly shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a front view of the guardrail assembly and rail shown in FIG.4,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the portion of the guardrail assemblyof FIG. 4 which is engaged to a rail of the track, showing the lockingmeans, clamping means and adjacent portion of the spacing means on whichthe spring clip is located,

FIG. 7 is a top view of the guardrail assembly portion and rail shown inFIG. 6, the guardrail assembly having right sided locking means andclamping means,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged top view of the portion of the guardrail assemblyof FIG. 1 which is engaged to a rail of a track, showing left sidedlocking means and clamping means and an adjacent portion of the spacingmeans at which the spring clip is located,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the upright post meansof the guardrail assembly shown in FIG. 1, showing the bracket clip towhich a rail means is engaged.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the upright post means portion and rail meansshown in FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 is a top view of an end portion of the spacing means of theguardrail assembly shown in FIG. 4 (when rotated 180°), showing thespring clip located thereon in a position where it connects togethertelescopically engaging spacer portions,

FIG. 12 is a side view of the spacing means portion shown in FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is a top view of the spacing means portion shown in FIG. 11showing the spring clip in a position where it no longer connectstogether the telescopically engaging spacer portions,

FIG. 14 is a side view of the spacing means portion shown in FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 is a top view of an end portion of the spacing means of theguardrail assembly shown in FIG. 4 (when rotated 180°) , showing thebracket clamp connected thereto and in a configuration where it can lockthe position of an upright post means when engaged through the bracketclamp,

FIG. 16 is a side view of the spacing means portion and bracket clampshown in FIG. 15,

FIG. 17 is an end view of the spacing means portion and bracket clampshown in FIG. 15,

FIG. 18 is a top view similar to that of FIG. 15, but showing thebracket clamp in a configuration where it can allow relative movementbetween the upright post means and the spacing means,

FIG. 19 is a side view of the spacing means portion and bracket clampshown in FIG. 18, and

FIG. 20 is an end view of the spacing means portion and bracket clampshown in FIG. 18.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The guardrail assemblies 100, 101 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are similar, insome respects, to the guardrail assembly disclosed in the inventor'sAustralian Patent No. 2002 332 965, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. Like features between the guardrailassemblies 100, 101 and the guardrail assembly of Australian Patent No.2002 332 965 are identified by like numerals and, to that extent,reference should be made to that patent for a detailed description ofthe structure and function of the like features of the guardrailassemblies 100, 101, especially the locking means 12 and clamping means14.

Dissimilar features, and where improvements reside, include the bracketclips 102 (shown in greater detail in FIGS. 9 and 10) which areconnected to the upright post 48 and support the horizontal guard rails112 having a substantially square sectional shape, the spring clip 120(shown in greater detail in FIGS. 6 to 8 and 11 to 14) which connectstogether the telescopically engaging spacer portions of the spacingmeans, and the bracket clamp 130 (shown in greater detail in FIGS. 15 to20) which connects together an end of the spacing means 15 and theupright post 48.

Referring now in greater detail to the bracket clips, each bracket clip102 is made of fibreglass and comprises a body with a base 103 by whichit is connected, say, with rivets 105, to a side of the upright post 48furthest from the railway track. The body also defines flexible jaws104, 106, 108, 110 for snap-on engagement and snap-off disengagement ofthe rails. There are two rails 112, each having a substantially squaresectional shape, that are supported by a respective pair of bracketclips 102. This is achieved by the rail 112 being engaged by the pair ofjaws 104, 106. Another rail may be engaged by the pair of jaws 108, 110.The jaws 106 and 108, although belonging to different pairs of jaws, aredefined on opposite sides of a common central portion 116 of the body.When the rails 112 are so engaged in their respective jaws, they areheld in an orientation where their outer surfaces are neither along ahorizontal plane or a vertical plane, but rather are at angles of about45° to the horizontal.

The aforementioned arrangement facilitates quick and easy snap-onengagement and snap-off disengagement of the rails. In particular, quickand easy snap-off disengagement of the rails from the upright posts willreduce the danger to any person who finds themself on the wrong side ofthe guardrail assembly, that is, between it and the railway tracks whichare in use. Such a person may now, with the present invention, be ableto simply push the rails off the posts and move clear of a trainwhereas, with horizontal guard rails of the prior art, that person'sescape may have been impeded by the absence of a quick releasearrangement in those guard rails.

An advantage of the use of square section shaped rails is that they arestackable along with the square section shaped posts, and so take upless space during transportation and storage.

The spring clip 120 comprises a resilient strip 121 of semi-rigidmaterial, such as fibreglass or a rust proof metal, which has a firstend that is secured by a clamping collar 122 to an outside surface of anouter telescopically engaging spacer portion 123 of the spacing means.There is also an inner telescopically engaging spacer portion 124 of thespacing means. The spacer portions 123, 124 are connected or fixedtogether by a protruding head 126 of the spring clip 120 which isproximal to a second end of the resilient strip opposite to the firstend, and passes through overlapping apertures formed in thetelescopically engaging spacer portions 123, 124. The spring clip 120includes an upturn 128 in the resilient strip at the second end to allowa user to pivotally lift the spring clip about the first end (as shownin FIGS. 13 and 14). When so lifted, the protruding head 126 can exitthe overlapping apertures and allow relative movement between thetelescopically engaging spacer portions 123, 124.

The aforementioned arrangement facilitates quick and easy assembly,disassembly and slidable adjustment of the spacing means, which willlessen the risk of disruption to rail services and injury to railworkers alongside tracks which are in use, and save labour time andcosts.

The bracket clamp 130 is made of stainless steel and comprises asubstantially square socket 132 and a lock 134 pivotally connected by anut and bolt assembly to a pair of free end panels 136, 138 of thebracket clamp 130. The free end panels 136, 138 are parallel facing andclose to each other. The bracket clamp 130 has an extension arm 139which is internally connected to an end of the spacing means 15 oppositethe end at which the spring clip 120 is located. The socket 132 of thebracket clamp 130 is adapted to receive therethrough and slidably engagethe upright post 48.

The pivotal lock 134 has a substantially U-shaped portion 140 which,when the pivotal lock 134 is in a first position (as shown in FIGS. 15to 17), sandwiches around the pair of free end panels 136, 138. TheU-shaped portion 140 has opposed inner surfaces which definetherebetween a tapering space into which the pair of free end panels136, 138 is forced, causing the free end panels to be urged toward eachother for “softly” locking the position of the upright post 48 relativeto the spacing means.

When the pivotal lock 134 is in a second position (as shown in FIGS. 18to 20), it releases that force and allows the free end panels 136, 138to move slightly apart, whereby relative movement between the uprightpost and the spacing means is allowed.

The aforementioned arrangement facilitates quick and easy assembly,disassembly, and slidable adjustment in the connection of the verticalposts to the spacing means. In particular, clamping and positionaladjustment of this kind will allow the upright post to be verticallylocated to a position where it is supported on the ballast or soil,without the bottom of the post needing to be dug into the ballast orsoil.

The spacing means has a bent portion 144 or “dog-leg” adjacent theclamping means 14 which is connected to an extension arm 146 which, inturn, is connected to the inner spacer portion 124, and enables thespacing means to be elevated above the clamping means. Elevation of thespacing means by the bent portion 144 is useful to avoid interference ofthe spacing means by excess ballast adjacent to the outer side of therail.

Greater stability of the guardrail assembly of the present invention isachieved by locating, in use, an assembly 100 with a left sided lockingmeans and clamping means (such as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) next inline to an assembly 101 with a right sided locking means and clampingmeans (such as is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5). Any side force exertedagainst assembly 100 will be resisted by the tendency of the right sidedlocking means and clamping means of the assembly 101 to favour movementin an opposite direction to that of the applied side force. Thus, thereare consecutive left and right sided assemblies along the entire stretchof interconnected guardrail assemblies beside the railway track.

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in details of design and construction of theguardrail assembly described above without departing from the scope orambit of the present invention.

1. A guardrail assembly for a railway track, comprising: (a) a pluralityof post forming means, each post forming means including an upright postmeans, and (b) one or more rail means supported by the upright postmeans, each post forming means further including: (i) locking meansslidably insertable under a rail of the track, (ii) clamping meansadapted to engage against a first side portion of the rail and to bemoved between a first position where the locking means is slidablyremovable from under the rail, and a second position, where the lockingmeans locks the clamping means to the rail, and (iii) spacing meansconnected between the clamping means and the upright post means forlocating the upright post means sufficiently remote of the rail toprevent a rail worker encroaching dangerously close to the rail, whereinone or more bracket clip is connected to a side of the upright postmeans furthest from the railway track and is adapted to support the railmeans, the bracket clip comprising flexible jaws for snap-on engagementand snap-off disengagement of the rail means, and wherein the spacingmeans comprises telescopically engaging spacer portions connectedtogether by a spring clip having a protruding head that is adapted topass through overlapping apertures formed in the telescopically engagingspacer portions, and wherein a bracket clamp is connected to an end ofthe spacing means and is adapted to slidably engage the upright postmeans, the bracket clamp comprising a pivotal lock that, when in a firstposition, forces a pair of free ends of the bracket clamp toward eachother for locking the position of the upright post means relative to thespacing means, and, when in a second position, releases that force andallows relative movement between the upright post means and the spacingmeans.
 2. The guardrail assembly of claim 1 wherein the bracket clipcomprises a body, the body defining a first pair of jaws for supportinga first rail means and a second pair of jaws for supporting a secondrail means.
 3. The guardrail assembly of claim 2 wherein one jaw of thefirst pair and one jaw of the second pair are defined on opposite sidesof a common central portion of the body.
 4. The guardrail assembly ofclaim 1 wherein the spring clip comprises a resilient strip ofsemi-rigid material having a first end secured to an outside surface ofan outer telescopically engaging spacer portion and having theprotruding head proximal to an opposite second end.
 5. The guardrailassembly of claim 4 wherein the spring clip includes an upturn in theresilient strip at the second end to allow pivotal lifting of the springclip about the first end, whereby the protruding head can exit theoverlapping apertures and allow relative movement between thetelescopically engaging spacer portions of the spacer means.
 6. Theguardrail assembly of claim 1 wherein the bracket clamp comprises asubstantially square socket for receiving therethrough the upright postmeans.
 7. The guardrail assembly of claim 6 wherein the pivotal lock ispivotally connected to the pair of free ends of the bracket clamp, andincludes a U-shaped portion which, when the pivotal lock is in the firstposition, sandwiches around the pair of free ends.
 8. The guardrailassembly of claim 7 wherein the U-shaped portion has opposed innersurfaces which define therebetween a tapering space into which the pairof free ends is forced.